Dallas Cowboys lineman Josh Brent, seen on the sidelines of Sunday's game vs. the Steelers, won't be standing with his team for the rest of the season. / Tom Pennington, Getty Images

by Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY Sports

by Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY Sports

If nose tackle Josh Brent watches the Dallas Cowboys play again in person this season, it won't be from the team's sideline. Not after the firestorm that was ignited by his presence on the sideline during Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Although the club hasn't announced it has officially banned Brent from the sideline, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports that Brent -- facing intoxication manslaughter charges stemming from the one-car accident Dec. 8 that resulted in the death of practice squad linebacker Jerry Brown -- won't be back on the bench. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the move.

The Cowboys seemingly are in damage-control mode, with the team maintaining management was unaware Brent would show up at the game.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

After the game, neither Jones nor coach Jason Garrett expressed any issues with Brent's presence on the sideline. They maintained Brent's teammates urged him to attend the game, complying with the wishes of Brown's mother, Stacey Jackson, who despite losing her son urged his teammates to support Brent.

"She said that Jerry (Brown) would want this," Jones said in the locker room after the game. "I will speak for him here, but I'll speak for me, too, 'We want you to support him.' His teammates asked him to come and be down there with them. So that's where we are. I do know that certainly there's the other side of the coin, but this is the case of the people that he's arguably the closest to, really wanted him around for him."

Brent visited with players in the locker room before the game, and there was no debate about his presence. A club official said Jones didn't become aware of Brent's presence on the sideline until shown during CBS' broadcast of the game.

Monday, Garrett said the team was still "working through" its handling of Brent, who was placed on the non-football/illness list last week. The club has remained engaged with Brent, who has access to the team's staff, including counselors and trainers.

Garrett was unavailable Tuesday. Monday, he said that Brent "handled it beautifully" by leaving when informed of the controversy.

"It becomes a real sensitive topic to a lot of people when you're in a public place like the game," Garrett said. "There were no bad intentions, other than to support Josh as part of our football team."

If he comes back for more games, it will be from a vantage point with a much lower profile.